Today’s agenda consisted of running errands around town on foot in blustery, cold, misty weather. Having worked this morning I was pressed for time in getting things done and didn’t want to take the time to wash and fuss with my hair. The solution for warmth, style and manageability was a hat. Luckily, I’ve about a dozen of them.

From woolly caps to structured hats, I’m literally covered for every outing. And no matter if it’s summer or winter, I find a reason to wear a hat and, more often than not, that gets comments. And today was no exception.

About half a dozen women commented on my hat (not the one shown above – that’s about 6 years old). Each time they say the same: they love the hat, they wish they wore them more or could pull it off. The last part always gets me. There’s this idea I’ve found across America that women feel they can’t really wear hats – that they’re theatrical, not appropriate, or young. Unless they’re baseball caps or visor, I don’t really see many women here wearing them.

When I’m wearing a hat in Europe, however, my hats aren’t a conversational piece at all as everyone there seems to wear one and I just blend right in. Maybe it’s because women there tend to be more pedestrian oriented than their American counterparts; when you’re out in weather especially, you need something that is warm, that keeps your hair from flying all over and styled. In America, more women drive from place to place and a hat becomes less a necessity and more of a fashion accessory. And it seems as though that’s a style that doesn’t seem to be in fashion.

I wish it was as I have quite a few hats that I like to wear depending on the outfit, the weather, and the need. I’ve dressy ones, casual ones, practical and fun.My ginourmous sun hat that borderlines obnoxious but I wear it to the beach or out to a casual summer lunch when the rays are harsh or I’m feeling dramatic amongst my girlfriends. I have a simple sun hat for walks about town and a more practical sun blocker for longer walks during the day. I have so many woolly caps for warmth and bad hair days and a couple of pretty rain caps for an evening out.

There’s hope, however, as over the years I’ve been seeing more hats in shops from Anthropologie, Nordstrom, Urban Outfitters, JCrew and on Etsy.

So perhaps hats will start trending more stateside because they’re not just pretty, they’re practical.

PS: I’m still trying to find the best way to store my hats. Wool ones go in bins but my harder ones that need to keep their shape need boxes and I’m still searching for those elusive round bins. Any ideas?

“The contrast between what is glamorous now and what was glamorous in the days of Cary Grant and Norma Shearer says much about how American society has changed. Glamour used to present an idealized version of adulthood. Now it presents an idealized version of adolescence. In the old days, glamour was all about unattainability, i.e., fantasy projection. These days, it has become unthinkable that a major Hollywood director might echo Cecil B. DeMille, who instructed Edith Head’s department at Paramount to make clothes “that make people gasp when they see them. Don’t design anything anybody could possibly buy in a store.”

Today glamour is tied to the idea of shopping to maintain the illusion that you are (a) kind of famous, or (b) on your way to being famous, or (c) essentially the same as famous people, because you share the same taste in home furnishings, core values and dog shampoo. Some of the stars with whose dog shampoo brand we may be intimately acquainted don’t even appear in the movies, or at least not often. They may appear in TV shows that aren’t so much TV shows as a chance to observe celebrities in their natural habitats. Which kind of resembles ours. Mainstream magazines have transformed themselves from facilitators of idol worship to guides to glamour consumption.”

From an article a few years ago in the LA Times that I wish I could find on their site again, but I can’t. From the article, The Allure of Illusion (thanks Christinia!).

Soon The Duchess will premiere and I can’t wait to see it – especially the set since details about its location and costume has been heavily dished in the industry. With Michael Carlin as the production designer and Michael O’Connor as the costume designer, I’m sure this will be a visual movie to inspire.

Based on the incredible historical biography by Amanda Foreman, the movie is about Georgiana Spencer who, in 1774 at the age of 17, becomes Duchess of Devonshire. The set is both lavish from the fabrics to architecture with lots of information and sneak peaks on the films official web site.

For the past fifteen minutes or so I’ve been pursuing the “Discover” and “Costumes” area of the site and have developed a craving for a three foot wig ans several gowns with fabulous underpinnings. However, that all comes at a cost and Georgiana, despite having wealth, celebrity and a title, was extraordinarily in debt. The current Duke and Duchess of Devonshire (who live in the home Chastworth where parts of the movie were filmed) still have many of the letters from creditors seeking to collect.

Georgiana was probably first celebrity in the way that we perceive celebrity today. When she appeared in the papers they sold out, she was followed around by cartoonists (the equivalent of the paparazzi). She was a fashion icon and she captured people’s imagination. And that took money.

Keira Knightly who plays Georgiana has said of her character’s debt, “When she died she had been terrified of disclosing to her husband the amount of she owed, because she was convinced he was going to divorce her or send her away and actually when she died he found out how much she was in debt and said is that all. There’s something incredibly sad about her, I think that she’s a victim of herself, of her own innocence. She’s a victim of people using her for their own gain, but what is rather wonderful about this story is she finds a way to live with this. She finds a way to triumph over something and to regain some power in a time when women really had very little.”

That doesn’t sound like only a 1774 problem, does it? The other way in which this movie sometimes parallels the present is the way in which Georgiana’s life resembles that of her great-great-great-great niece, Princess Diana Spencer. Both she and Georgiana were intelligent, powerful women who were almost ripped to shreds by the press and then fought to remake themselves to finally be the women they wanted to be. One of the aspects of Georgiana’s life that makes it so relevant today is that she had to live under the intense glare of public scrutiny. And although I often have a hard time with Keira Knightly, I think the scrutiny in which she’s lived under will perhaps help her with this movie, too.

What also helps the actors in this movie is that director Saul Dibb demanded that all scenes be shot on location. This lead to the incredible task of finding current places to represent real life past homes that were no longer in existence, such as the main residence of the Duke and Duchess, the Devonshire House.

For that home, rooms from Kedleston Hall, Clandon Park in Surrey and Holkham in Norfolk were combined for interiors whilst the exterior was shot at the Somerset House in London. Robert Adam designed Kedleston Hall which is one of the most intact of Adam’s houses in England. Yet there were still challenges with transforming modern updates such as switching out electrical lighting for candles and putting in massive chandeliers. Said Carlin of the task, “Here was an enormous amount of time and work spent on the structural engineering of how we could hang huge chandeliers, especially when you’re working in homes where sometimes things haven’t been moved in hundreds of years.” Kedleston was also depicted as a rented villa in Bath.

Other places used include:

• Basildon Park in Berkshire entertained dining scenes
• The Naval College at Greenwich was transformed into the hustings scene at Covent Garden, where Georgiana introduces her lover Charles Grey, a parliamentary candidate, to a huge crowd. Carlin has said of the college, “‘It’s a 360-degree environment. Point the camera anywhere, and it’s still in period. We built stalls and timber structures to make it believable as a market.’”
• The Bristol Old Vic theatre
• Bath Assembly Rooms
• Osterley Park,

And if you happen to be in Derbyshire, you can see the amazing exhibition of costumes and accessorites at the Duchess Film Exhibition at Kedleston Hall.

The shoes on the left were mine when I was about 5 and 6. I wore them everywhere with everything. The pair on the right I picked out on my 10th birthday and I was so excited despite the fact I had a cast on my ankle and had to wait a few months to wear them both (it was worth the wait). These to me are just so Danish – the colour, the style, and the fact that they’re made for every sized person to wear (and to wear with every kind of clothing).

I’ve remained a huge clog fan and still have a few different pairs. My current favourite pair come from El Naturalista (you can see my review on Pet the Pretty Things). My mum loved them so much I bought her a pair as well. These are her go to’s for the 8 hours a day she spends on her feet at a winery.

I’m also loving Born’s new more fashionable looking Anita Clog. Born shoes are my go-to shoes (I’ve three pairs of boots, flip flops and dress shoes that are so comfortable and always compliment inducing). And I like these when I want the feel and support of a clog but perhaps just a little more dressed and a little less traditional.

And when the shoe no longer fits, they make great decor. These have been a staple in my mums entrance way for years no matter where she lives or what her entrance looks like. That, too, is Danish.

(The little thing in the back of the right shoes is a mouse door stop I gave her. It’s from Anthropologie)

Read more if you want to see me as a 5 year old in my clogs.

Solid, Right?

Thanks to years of travel and hundreds of trips (52 last year and 11 so far this year), I’ve got packing down to a science – especially since I like to travel with only carry-on. However, my current trip to Europe was a little challenging due to several different climates, events, Terminal 5, and length of time so I had to really think about what to bring.

Dressing for comfort is essential followed by flexibility (how many times to how many places can I wear something) followed by is it appropriate (for weather, people, dinners, daily touring). Above is my essentials which was all nicely tucked into my Orla Kiely roll on bag (which worked as carry-on!).

So far, everything has worked really well and been very comfortable. I’ve been able to go to some big events but then walk on cobblestone streets in freezing temperatures. There were a couple of items that didn’t make it in (a bright orange dress and a shawl I wear – you can see those in some of my Flickr shots). The purple Rachel Pally dress has been heaven for flights because it’s easy to sleep in. My Born boots have been crucial to walking around. And the hat comes in perfect when rain hits and the hair frizzes. And big sunglasses cover up late nights and hours of travel.

There is the cliche saying that you can spot a tourist because of their running shoes, khaki pants and t-shirts. I find this is often true and it’s confusing to me how comfort is almost always equated to sweat pants and runners in North America. Or how when people travel they don’t “take the good stuff” because they fear it getting lost on a flight. This is my fear, too, which is why I do carry on. If I have too much to fit into a carry on (which is very, very rare) I take a second bag, packing all the things that could be easily replaced or I could afford to lose (often this is computer gadgets, chargers, shoes, books, toiletries). Things that I don’t want to lose (clothes, computer, personal things) I then put in the carry-on.

The other trick for me is to pick things that all work well together colour-wise. This way I can extend the life of my clothes by mixing and matching so that I don’t get so sick of wearing one thing over and over (especially after a month of travel!). I also stick to materials that don’t wrinkle or, if they do, I wrap the item in tissue paper (usually I ask for some extra pieces from Anthropologie and wrap it up – wrinkles are avoided!).